From a Las Vegas native's point of view

Favorite Food Finds 2010

These items may have been around for a while, but they have only recently found their way into our kitchen. Only a few products are special enough to make this list because these have all earned a permanent place in our cupboard or refrigerator. And nope, we haven’t been paid or otherwise compensated to promote these items.

Private Selection Fruit Fillings These ready-to-use fruit fillings for pies and pastries are just too good. With flavors like strawberry rhubarb, lemon, key lime and my current addiction, caramelized banana these substantial curd-like fillings come right out of the jar with a consistency that holds it’s shape in pies when sliced. We’ve been using the banana flavor on everything, even as a topping for our morning bowl of oatmeal. The Private Selection brand is available at Smith’s in Las Vegas and at other Kroger markets nationwide.

Greek Gods Greek Style Yogurt Very thick and very rich, we use the plain full-fat version in place of sour cream on everything. The buttery pomegranate and fig flavors are amazing. This stuff will make yogurt lovers out of the most serious yogurt haters.

Bacon Salt This smoky, bacony flavored salt turns a plain fried egg sandwich into well, a fried egg sandwich with bacon without the bacon grease. No MSG and vegetarian, too, if that matters.

Mayocabo Beans These dried beans, also called Canary beans, are about the same size as a pintos with a creamy interior and very tender outer skin which tends to make them easier to digest than other types of small beans. They hold their shape when cooked and make terrific soups, casseroles and refried beans. Look for them in the Latin foods section of your supermarket if they aren’t on the shelf with the other dried beans.

Ken’s Steak House Greek Salad Dressing Sure, we make a great vinaigrette, but this bottled salad dressing is so good it’s now our go-to bottled dressing for everything from salads to marinating chicken and veggies for outdoor grilling. A nice blend of feta, black olives, olive oil and anchovies.

Sherry Vinegar Sherry has been my primary wine for cooking for many years, but I only discovered sherry vinegar this year. I love the depth of flavor and use it now anytime I would normally use red wine vinegar. Buy a good brand in order to get a vinegar that still has the properties of good drinking sherry. This bottle cost $11.00. Like good balsamic, a little goes a long way.

Furikake This savory salt, sesame seed and seaweed sprinkle is used in Japan as a general table seasoning for plain rice. Think of it as the salt & pepper of Japan. We love it on eggs and cottage cheese. It turns a bowl of leftover rice into a quick and easy lunch.

I believe the brand in the photo came from Whole Foods, but I have seen it in the Asian section in my local supermarkets (Albertson’s and Smith’s). This is such a popular seasoning in Japan, many markets that carry a nice selection of Asian ingredients will likely carry it here in the States. If you are in Las Vegas, Chinatown markets will all carry serveral brands and versions. I hope you can find it, this really is terrific stuff.